Educational toys are entertaining, but toys are also instruments that help a child learn about themselves and the world around them. Play is important to the healthy growth and development of children. As children play, they learn to solve problems, to get along with others, and to develop the fine and gross motor skills needed to enhance and master living skills.

Through educational toys, children discover about themselves, their environment and about social cues. Toys aid in developing the child’s creativity and builds leadership skills and healthy personalities. Play increases skills children need to learn to read and write. Playing with educational toys in early childhood is the best foundation for success in school. Educational toys help a child achieve the following:

• Development of physical skills . . Physical and gross motor skills are developed as a child learns toreach, grasp, crawl, run, climb, and balance. Fine motor skills are developed as children handle small toys. Dexterity develops as the child holds toys or other items.

• Development of cognitive thinking . Children learn to solve problems (cause and effect), through play. Children also learn colors, numbers, size, and shapes. They have the ability to enhance their memory skills as well as their attention span. Children move on to higher levels of thought as they play with educational toys.

• Development of language skills . Language develops as a child plays and interacts with others. This begins with babies playing cooing games and advances to useful language skills such as story telling and jokes. Learning to cooperate, negotiate, take turns and play by the rules are important life skills for interacting and communicating.

• Development of emotional well-being . Through play a child can accomplish his/her wishes and can conquer fears and bad experiences. Play helps the child master the environment and promotes awareness of their surroundings. When children at play feel safe, successful and confident, they gain important principles of positive emotional health. Playing with educational toys also can create strong bonds between parent and child.

• Development of social skills . Learning to share are important social skills children learn through educational toys. These skills include daily interaction skills such as sharing, taking turns, and allowing others to talk without interrupting. Social skills grow as the child plays. Children learn to imitate desirable responses such as turn taking with board games, cards, or other activities that require a child to wait for others. As a result, children learn the roles and rules of society.

Selecting educational toys for your child

Educational toys should challenge a child's interests and abilities and match closely his/her skills and maturity level. Both solitary and social play is necessary for a child's development. A child can play with a building toy by themselves and, in the process, develop independence, self-sufficiency and persistence. Playing with the same toy with others, he/she acquires social skills such as sharing, understanding and cooperation.

Parents also have an important role in choosing good quality educational toys. Below are some suggestions for appropriate toys for children of various ages. Be aware of your child's interests and abilities. Not all children enjoy the same kinds of play.

Birth to 1 year old

A baby learns about his environment by using all 5 senses (sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch). A child this age is also learning cause and effect. Toys he/she may enjoy include:

A toddler moves around his environment a great deal (walking, climbing, pushing, and riding). A strong curiosity in manipulating and problem solving with objects begins during this stage and can be encouraged with:

A school-age child looks for new information, experiences, and challenges in play. A child in this age group is influenced by peers and is extremely social. He/she may favor group activity items such as:

• Sports equipment• Bicycle and helmet• Roller skates with protective gear• Books• Simple model and craft kits• Board games (Sorry, Trouble, and Checkers)• Coordination or memory games (Uno, Guess Who or Perfection)• Building and construction sets

9 to 12 years old

A pre-teen is independent, yet thrives on play with other children. A child this age knows how to play fair using advanced social skills. He will be able to manage: